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Blue Sky Center

94%

· New Cuyama, Santa Barbara, California

267 acres hosted by Blue Sky C.

6 lodging sites · 10 RV/tent sites

Staff verified

Accuracy verified by Hipcamp's on-the-ground team.

Off-leash friendly

Pets can be off-leash at some sites.

Romantic

Recent Hipcampers say this Hipcamp is romantic.

Amazing views

Hipcampers say this spot has amazing views.

1948- On January 1, 1948 a wildcatter named George Hadley, who had been oil prospecting in the valley for 10 years, made the first oil strike in the Cuyama Valley. Richfield Oil Company soon moved in and extracted nearly 300 million barrels of oil in just a few short years. To accommodate an exploding workforce in the early 1950s, the company built the town of New Cuyama, its infrastructure, public buildings, the Cuyama airstrip (L88) and all the industrial structures that are now home to Blue Sky. Richfield Oil Company, later merging with Atlantic Oil Company forming the Atlantic Richfield Oil Company (ARCO), created high-paying jobs, a safe and prosperous community, and developed schools, churches, and recreational areas for the employee-residents. 1973- With dwindling production in the area and new discoveries in Alaska, Atlantic-Richfield Oil Company put the town of New Cuyama and its associated infrastructure up for sale. Word of an entire town for sale made its way to entrepreneur, Russell O’Quinn of the Foundation for Airborne Relief (FAR) and Mildred Dotson, a wealthy widow from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The two worked together to acquire the townsite and adjacent land. O’Quinn, an aviator, inventor, and test pilot, aspired to use the New Cuyama airstrip and facilities as a base for humanitarian relief and a non-profit trade school. Though not fully realized, FAR’s primary vision included utilizing converted military aircraft to airlift food and medical supplies to developing countries and global disaster areas. Dotson had loftier goals. Her plans included an 18-hole fly-in golf course, expansion of the Buckhorn Restaurant and Motel, and a 40- to 50-acre lake for amphibious landing and water sports. 1986- Another visionary, Harry Kislevitz, inventor of the popular design tool Colorforms® and founder of Future City/Villages International, sought to develop the site as a “City of Friendship,” an all-electric village of 5,000 earthen homes. The dwellings were to be designed by Nader Khalili, an Iranian-born architect who specialized in earthen structures, worked with NASA on prototypes for lunar homes and received an award from the United Nations for his work towards the development of low cost, sustainable structures for human shelter in impoverished and disaster prone environments. One 628-sq-ft Khalili prototype remains on the property today ("the Cantina"). Khalili went on to form the California Institute for Earth Art and Architecture, Cal-Earth, in Hesperia, CA. 1993- Recognizing the transformative potential of clean, solar power and the attractiveness of a rural destination, entrepreneur Mike Nolan worked to develop the Solar Skypark and Big Sky Guest Ranch with Santa Barbara Architect, Barry Berkus. The Sky Park included plans for sixty-five fly-in residences on one-acre lots powered completely from clean, solar energy. The Big Sky Guest Ranch was intended to function as a clubhouse for Skypark residents complete with an equestrian center, a small subsistence farm, pool and plenty of enriching recreational activities. 2012- At the end of 2011, the Zannon Family Foundation made a long-term investment in acquiring the New Cuyama Airport property with the vision of rehabilitating the site to be a low-cost resource for programs and organizations working to advance sustainable living practices and technologies. Plans began soon after towards developing a framework and organization to develop the space and coordinate with prospective programs and institutions. In 2014 Blue Sky Sustainable Living Center ("Blue Sky Center") received 501(c)(3) not-for-profit status, endeavoring to reclaim this property for the public good. Today, Blue Sky Center provides unduplicated services and technical assistance to support small businesses and entrepreneurs as well as the local food system, with core work focused on community research and advocacy led by Cuyamans. Learn more on our website and consider supporting our community work with your donation or by hosting your next special event here!

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94%

677 ratings · 420 reviews

Eric K.recommends

June 28, 2024

Blue Sky Dispersed Camping

Blue Sky is a great property, there are lots of amenities and the campground is overall really nice. The host gave a ton of information about the site and the surrounding areas and it was overall a great experience!

Alexandra G.recommends

June 24, 2024

Snail Hut

Blue Sky was great! The property is very well equipped and feels like a little oasis. It was very hot when we visited (about 100°) and it was really nice having the cantina to escape to for some shade during the day. The huts are super fun and the whole design is great!

Michael O.recommends

June 15, 2024

Blue Sky Dispersed Camping

Great for fly in camping

Great campground, right next to the airport. Very easy to fly in and carry over your stuff to the dispersed campsites.

Joe C.doesn't recommend

June 13, 2024

Blue Sky Dispersed Camping

Don’t tent camp here

Host was super kind on the phone but the site did NOT match up to anything they said. We ended up literally just pitching a tent someplace that looked decent since no one was still on site at 6pm and the paperwork they told us would be there… wasn’t.

Eashan S.recommends

June 9, 2024

Snail Hut

We enjoyed camping in the Snail Hut! The accommodations were perfect for a quick weekend trip to New Cuyama. The bathrooms provided in the Blue Sky Center were clean as expected and the outdoor shower was a fun place to get clean and cool off during the hotter afternoon sun. The Hut was clean and the bed was comfortable enough for a good night’s sleep. The provided comforter provided the necessary warmth in the night. The host was wonderful and greeted us when we arrived. Our only wish is that there was someone at the center over the weekend. While nothing went wrong, it would have been comforting to know that there was help nearby, though she was available via text message if we had needed anything.

Janie M.recommends

June 9, 2024

Blue Sky Dispersed Camping

Relaxing and scenic

This place is 12/10 stars…best camping spot ever! Nice facilities for hot indoor or outdoor showers. Cute shared area with kitchen, games, tub, seating, etc. The amount of stars in the sky at night was amazing! Farm to table restaurant and nice bar within walking distance to the lodge. Highly recommend this place!!

Location

New Cuyama, Santa Barbara, California, United StatesTraditional, ancestral territory of Chumash, Salinan, and Kuyam First Nations according to To respect the Host's privacy, the precise address of this land will be provided after booking

Hosted by Blue Sky C.Joined in June 2016

Response time: Within 24 hours

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